Electric terminal



Jan. 17, 1961 A. c. NEADERLAND ETAL 2,968,738

ELECTRIC TERMINAL Filed Oct. 17, 1956 J fia WEW/ TTOE/VEY ELECTRIC TERMINAL Adolph C. Neaderland, Mount Vernon, N.Y., and Alan E. Anne, South Norwalk, Conn., assignors to Burndy Corporation, a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 17, 1956, Ser. N0. 616,559

1 Claim. or. 339-277 Our invention relates to a terminal and to a method of forming the lug of the same.

Hitherto, in making a terminal from tubing, the tongue portion was formed by simply flattening one end of the tubing. We have found that such terminals frequently fail under the stresses developed by vibration, such as occurs in airplanes.

An object of our invention is to evolve the most etficient shape of the terminal from the point of view of resistance to vibration, economy of material, ease of manufacture, and convenience in installation.

We accomplish these and other objects and obtain our new results as will be apparent from the device described in the following specification, particularly pointed out in the claim, and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. l is a plan view of our proposed terminal.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Fig. 3 is an end view taken from the terminal tongue end.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken in the plane 44 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view.

We have discovered that the tubing from which our connector is made may be flattened to form a neck portion between the flat tongue and the round barrel, which accomplishes the objects of our invention. In particular, the drawing illustrates such a terminal Ill which comprises a tongue portion 12 having an opening 14 and a barrel portion 16 having a hollow portion 18 for inserting a conductor end therein.

This terminal may be made from a tube which is flattened at one end to form the tongue, as is shown in the Rogofl Patent No. 2,371,469. Other methods which may be employed to produce the tongue and barrel portion are forging (Patent No. 1,642,696), or molding (Patent 1,227,726).

The junction or neck 20 is achieved by a convex forming die which flattens the tubing so as to provide two sturdy curved ridges 22 which extend from the lateral edges 24 of the tongue to the top of the tubing. The upper surface of the flat tongue extends convexly from lateral edge to lateral edge, and is longest at the longitudinal axis in the central portion. From this curved junction line 26, the end ridges, as well as the central curved portion, extend in a gradual curve to the top of the tubing.

The peep hole 28 may be formed by a cut in the curved wall. Such hole is commonly used to facilitate inspection of the cable end to determine its position in the barrel.

The convex transition between the flat tongue and cylindrical tubing adds considerably to the strength of the terminal and reduces the transverse cracking which occurs in other types.

The opening 14 in the tongue may be located closer to the tubing portion than is possible with previous types without aflecting washer clearance since the convex transition line is preferably concentrically positioned with respect to the hole and seated washer. The overall length of the connector is thereby reduced in comparison to the existing connectors of the same size. This saving in length results in a saving of metal from which the connectors are made.

The two ridges formed by our design add substantially to the strength of the junction between the flat tongue and the tubing. Tests made show a failure of other types before connectors with our design of the same size, will fail. This, coupled with the reduction in length and corresponding saving in material, constitutes the important benefits obtained that are wholly unexpected by the change in the aforesaid junction.

We have thus described our invention, but We desire it understood that it is not confined to the particular forms or uses shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, and that the invention may be carried out in other ways without departing from the spirit of our invention, and, therefore, we claim broadly the right to employ all equivalent instrumentalities coming within the scope of the appended claim, and by means of which, objects of our invention are attained and new results accomplished, as it is obvious that the particular embodiments herein shown and described are only some of the many that can be employed to attain these objects and accomplish these results.

We claim:

A terminal for a wire or the like formed from tubular metal stock comprising a body portion for receiving the end of the wire; an end portion of flattened tubular stock including two layers of tube wall in juxtaposed area contact to form a tongue; a hole in said tongue; and a transitioral portion between said end and body portions and integral therewith, having in a tube wall a compound curved outer surface concave relative to said body portion and arcuate in the plane of said end portion, the center of said are lying in the direction of said end portion, and at least a part of said are being concentric with said hole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,186,728 Austin June 13, 1916 1,642,492 Dibner Sept. 13, 1927 1,723,596 Allen Aug. 6, 1929 1,805,804 Caldwell May 19, 1931 1,897,186 Buchanan Feb. 14, 1933 2,287,761 Matthysse June 23, 1942 2,423,290 Bonwitt July 1, 1947 2,511,806 Macy June 13, 1950 2,651,767 Bergan Sept. 8, 1953 2,729,695 Pierce Jan. 3, 1956 2,815,497 Redslob Dec. 3, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 375,691 Great Britain June 30, 1932 

